Witcher 3 - No DRM on Release

October 31st, 2013, 04:28

CD Project Red has released an open letter to the Witcher community with a promise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will have no DRM on release.

Hey, following our recent announcement of the distribution deals of The Witcher 3 in North America and Europe, there have been some concerns regarding DRM and previous legal issues with The Witcher 2. Weíve seen a lot of comments in various places around the web and we would like to join in on the conversation.

Iíd like to say it loud and clear: The PC version of The Witcher 3 will have absolutely no DRM from day 0. Zero. Zip. Nada. It doesnít matter if you choose to buy it on GOG.com and support us directly or buy the game in box format, youíll still get the 100% DRM-free experience. And this goes for the whole world.

Weíve fiddled with DRM in the past (Oh boy! How young and naive we were) and thatís enough. Lesson learned.

Having said that, Iíd like to thank you for your continuous support. Youíve bought six million copies of the Witcher games so far. Whoo-hoo! Letís celebrate. Here, have some cake!

UPDATE:

Itíll be on Steam; the team isnít going to exclude that community by any means. Gamers have a choice in where they buy their games, but where CDPR does have control ó like GOG.com ó there will be absolutely no DRM.

Will there be no DRM promise, or maybe they mean No, DRM Promise which I think means there will be DRM for sure. These people are confusing, which should not be a surprise from a company that makes a game called "The Witcher"

Will there be no DRM promise, or maybe they mean No, DRM Promise which I think means there will be DRM for sure. These people are confusing, which should not be a surprise from a company that makes a game called "The Witcher"

Well if your buying the Steam release there is nothing they can do. I will just buy the GOG version, and not bother with the middleman.

— RPGWatchSenior News Editor & Moderator

"I Am a Proud BioWare Fanboy, and Have Been One for Fifteen Years."Paypal Donation Link - If you like my work please donate.

Incidental lesson here: people admit Steam is DRM. Quite often, Steam supporters deny this device is DRM. But if they see DRM in the Steam release of a game that is supposed not to include DRM, Steam is the DRM.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I tend to go with whatever is the most convenient for me, and that often happens to be Steam.

If it's a developer that I'm particularly fond of though, I'll always try to purchase it in the way that gets them the most money.

Do they get more money from GOG? I guess they would - in which case I think I'll get that version. I still don't like Steam, but I have grown to accept - like so many things that we all grow to accommodate (like higher taxes, government incompetence etc)
On that note, Steam games are usually more expensive (even though they are entirely digital…) than the physical boxed copies released here. E.g Call of Duty: Ghosts, $60 on Steam, $50 at the local store. Of course, they are available immediately at release.

@Couchpotato, Chien Aboyeur:
You can have DRM free games on steam - that is games distributed by steam that don't use the Steamworks DRM package. Meaning you can run the game from it's folder without steam, once it's installed. I'd assume that that's what they'll do.
You'd still have to install Steam to download or activate the game, but I don't think in that constellation we can really call it DRM anymore.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
@Couchpotato, Chien Aboyeur:
You can have DRM free games on steam - that is games distributed by steam that don't use the Steamworks DRM package. Meaning you can run the game from it's folder without steam, once it's installed. I'd assume that that's what they'll do.
You'd still have to install Steam to download or activate the game, but I don't think in that constellation we can really call it DRM anymore.

Not arguing semantics here but that is DRM. It's just become accepted that nobody cares anymore. Anyway I have no problem with Steam GhanBuriGhan.

I'll just buy another version without it if offered one.

— RPGWatchSenior News Editor & Moderator

"I Am a Proud BioWare Fanboy, and Have Been One for Fifteen Years."Paypal Donation Link - If you like my work please donate.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
@Couchpotato, Chien Aboyeur:
You can have DRM free games on steam - that is games distributed by steam that don't use the Steamworks DRM package. Meaning you can run the game from it's folder without steam, once it's installed. I'd assume that that's what they'll do.
You'd still have to install Steam to download or activate the game, but I don't think in that constellation we can really call it DRM anymore.

I agree with this definition of non-DRM Steam downloads, but I am yet to see a game that is downloaded through Steam and can be run through its executable without the need for Steam be on in the background.

Originally Posted by SpoonFULL
I agree with this definition of non-DRM Steam downloads, but I am yet to see a game that is downloaded through Steam and can be run through its executable without the need for Steam be on in the background.